Lamar takes on Vermont for right to play UNC

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March 11, 2012 5:50:46 PM PDT

RALEIGH, NC --

North Carolina has earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

The Tar Heels (29-5) won't have to leave their home state as they begin pushing for a third national championship in eight years. They'll begin play in the Midwest Region against the Lamar-Vermont winner on Friday in Greensboro, about an hour west of the Chapel Hill campus.

North Carolina was the preseason No. 1 and won the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title. But the Tar Heels played most of the ACC tournament without top defender John Henson due to a wrist injury and lost to Florida State in Sunday's final.

Two losses this year came to the Seminoles. They also lost by a point to Duke and Kentucky on games that came down to the final possession.